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Some folks just love to hate Apple products, for a list of good reasons at times. Apple goes the extra mile to make much of what they sell proprietary. Try and use an after-market cord and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. The Apple Company holds their own idea of what they feel the audio market is into. Many at Head-Fi embraced the original IPod as it really offered a standard of...” --Redcarmoose

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I’ve been a big fan of NuForce and its products for many years. I’ve owned several of their headphones, IEMs (in-ear monitors) and their well renowned u-Dac 3 portable headphone amplifier and DAC. So I was a bit dismayed when I learned that Optoma had purchased NuForce as I wasn’t sure what direction the new ownership would take this well respected audio company. Thankfully, NuForce is...” --MacedonianHero

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Prelude
Apple’s stock earbuds that have been shipped with every iPod since its inception are quite possibly the most prolific and widely distributed tech accessory of all time. It’s hard to go anywhere without seeing a pair of these things dangling from someone’s ears. Casual listeners are bound to be satisfied by the decent performance of the earbuds but what about audiophiles? It’s...” --TheGame21x

“Context: I primarily listen to music through my setup of FLAC -> HRT Music Streamer II -> Little Dot Mk3 -> Hifiman HE-400. I bought these primarily to use at the gym with an ancient RCA mp3 player that only has 512mb, because expensive gear and sweat don't mix IMO. These setups fill completely different roles, so I obviously don't expect them to compare, but I think it's important to...” --manbear

“I'm not sure if this is the same model I got with my iPhone 4s or not. There have been tons of different models of these buds released for different i-devices. The ones that I received with my 4s are (In my opinion ) absolutely worth at least 30-45 $ in my opinion.
No they don't sound like my SENN HD 600 by any means at all, but for an earbud they are exceptional. The...” --GoldenGuy66

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I've been out of the loop for a while when it comes to budget IEMs. Back in the day, the low priced options were simply not very good. I remember paying $40 for the V-MODA Bass Freq as a workout IEM because I liked the massive impact, though it was obviously not an "all purpose" type IEM. I used them with my Creative Zen Micro Photo...” --project86

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I initially bought these as a temporary replacement for my AKG K26Ps that crapped out on me after being left in a car for two weeks, and because I knew I'd want earbuds for music on the go. Given that I bought these for around $30, I was astounded at the audio quality these earbuds produced. The NE-6 has far more bass than any other earbud I've come across so far, and while there isn't a...” --OmegaSwitch